The very act of wrapping a tree demanded I stop and look. Why do they do that?
I left the big city to live in the country, and the landscape around Giv'at Ada has both neat, orderly agricultural views, as well as bits of ancient wilderness.
This one Nectarine orchard sits by the narrow road connecting us to civilization.
I pass it in my car, observing its transformations through the seasons.
Most of the time the farmers roll up the nets neatly at the edges of the plot, and it serves as a half transparent roof of sorts, an open green house.
But when the delicate pink flowers start coming out, they carefully wrap the trees, to protect them form hail, dust and later - stop the birds from eating all the fruit.
This is all so visually interesting.
The act of wrapping trees in a half-transparent net reveals their shape and volume in space.
You are suddenly made aware of how much air they occupy, showing very nicely that old plein air painters' saying that trees are 90% air :)
What really took me a couple of years to realize, was that this - what I see here - is not the natural shape of Nectarine trees. None of the trees in these orchards are what they would look like if you just let them grow wild.
This is man-made nature; they are in our service, and under our care.
The Veil
The white plastic net creates interesting effects.
It transforms the tree into an abstract shape, full of movement and mystery.
On the one hand, The net constricts the tree, bending the branches under its tension, setting a limit on how much it can grow.
On the other hand, the tree is what shapes the net, dictating the folds, and bursting out out in places.
It is an interesting play between INSIDE and OUTSIDE, because the net, by its very nature, is both transparent and limiting at the same time.
A Favorite spot for Wedding Photos
The symbolism of the delicate pink flowers under the half transparent white cover is not lost on people.
Every spring - right now as I'm writing this post in fact - couples on their wedding day come here to take their wedding day photos and commemorate their union inside this space, that is so delicately balanced between wild nature and commitment.
This painting is available :)
If you are interested, please email me directly, or use this Contact Form.
This work is currently on display in a group exhibition at the Chagall House, Haifa, home of the Israel Painters & Sculptors Association, Haifa and Northern District.
The Exhibition will be on until March 18th 2023.
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